THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 25, 1995 TAG: 9511230083
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Issues of Faith
SOURCE: Betsy Mathews Wright
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
Last week's Issue of Faith: Using the example of Colin Powell, I tried to articulate the many traits of ``authentic humility.''
This week's Reader Responses:
From the Rev. Kathryn Pigg of Portsmouth: ``I agree that Colin Powell has an appealing humility. That is one of the reasons he would have a tough time in the White House with its heavy media attention. There is so much excitement when the president or other leaders admit they don't know something or might wish they had done something differently. A feeding frenzy develops. We seem to want a god in the presidential office, someone who has no frailty or fault, who never makes an error or false step, someone who is not human.
``Perhaps in this time we want reassurance that the world is safe for us instead of doing the work of making the world safer, as God intended. We keep on being disappointed, and even worse, we keep trying to bury our leaders with the muck we have dug out from under them trying to prove their feet are clay rather than accepting the truth that we all have feet of clay. . . . The heart of the problem may be adversarial politics and adversarial journalism (and adversarial religion?) that feed on destroying the enemy rather than loving the enemy so that together we can build a world where God is God and we are mutually serving and creating with God.''
From C. Cummings of Virginia Beach: ``You give us an excellent definition of humility. It is good to know someone who meets that description.''
From Chris Astle of Newport News: ``(Last week's) column reminded me of a quote I have carried in my wallet for over 30 years.
``I'm not sure this practice continues today, as I long ago lost interest in beauty pageants, but back in the '50s and '60s, the five finalists in the Miss America pageant were asked an impromptu question. This gave the judges a chance to learn if the girls had brains to complement their beauty. The girls had no idea what was coming.
``Donna Axum, who would, moments later, be crowned Miss America 1964, was asked to explain what humility is.
`` `Humility,' she said, `is obvious to others but invisible to those who possess it.' ''
From Miles Pelton of Virginia Beach: ``You have nailed not only the underlying factor in Powell's appeal but also the factor underlying the decay in the morality of our society: It all starts with the understanding, unquestionably believed, that we are the creation of `One' who possesses more wisdom, more compassion, more understanding (and so on) than possessed collectively by all mortals.
``Now, how do we get people, especially the young, to believe?''
From Sue Page Knapp of Norfolk: ``I read (the column) to our Mission of the Holy Spirit boys at our Monday night service. The group is made up of 25 black inner-city teenagers who run their own mission. Your column on humility really hit home. Excellent piece. Wonderful. One of your best.''
From an anonymous caller: ``Betsy, Betsy, Betsy. Satan uses you so easily. You've gotten politics and the Tao in your `Issues of Faith' and you would crucify Christ afresh. I think that you blaspheme the Holy Spirit, because Christ came to die for you and this is how you represent him with your life. Tsk, Tsk. Shame, shame, shame. Smell the coffee, honey. God bless you.''
From Glenn ``Steve'' Bingham of Portsmouth: ``I saw in your column a wonderful description of a true pastor, or shepherd. To me, `authentic humility' is `authentic love' for God, and for others. If you love someone, you will not abuse or demean them in any way. This loving humility is precious and vital to a pastor's proper shepherding of a church and community which has been entrusted to that person by God.
``First and foremost, no matter how busy a church program may be, the people must know that their pastor humbly loves God, and loves them. However, on the other side, a humble servant of Jesus Christ is all too often abused by non-humble or arrogant persons who are blinded by prejudice, fear, power, competition, jealousy, bureaucratic legalism or just plain lack of knowledge. Tragically, non-humble persons do not know how much they hurt the victims of arrogance, or just how much they damage the work of Jesus Christ when they cause humble servants to quietly quit or leave `the fellowship.'
``Your column was precious and one that should be addressed to all people, and especially church leaders and members. . . . I fear that our beloved Christian church is painfully suffering from a severe lack of humility and could die as we know it if there is not a revival of spiritual love and humility soon.'' by CNB